Scuttlebutt

With so many major candidates dropping out
of the Oct. 4 primary election campaign for governor recently, New Orleans entrepreneur
Fred Robertson sent out a news release saying he "will not get out of the
race under any circumstances." Robertson, a minor candidate who announced he is
running on April 18, says no other candidate is addressing the "critical national
issue" that "dragged" him into the governor's race in the first place -- high-speed
train technology.

"Establishment of the high-speed train industry
here is the only credible path to true prosperity, jobs and lasting economic
development in Louisiana," Robertson says. High-speed trains would exceed 150
miles per hour, solve the metro area's traffic snarls, and make Houston an hour-and-a-half
trip, he says. "It is not the same as light-rail," Robertson adds, referring
to the proposed train system linking New Orleans to Louis Armstrong Airport
in Kenner, which recently received state funding for more study.

Robertson indicates his campaign will rail
against wasteful federal government spending on Amtrak, the federal transportation
"bureaucracy," and the "politicians who refinance their reelection with contributions
from engineers and consultants pocketing federal funds."

A first-time candidate for public office,
Robertson acknowledges that most train issues fall under the Congress, but says
the governor's race now is the best way to call attention to the need for a
heavy rail system in New Orleans. Robertson says he has been interested in heavy
rail since 1987, when he wrote a paper on the subject for a master's degree
course in urban planning at the University of New Orleans. Robertson's campaign
can be contacted at www.robertsongovernor.org
or by phone at 861-2003.

Lee Endorses

Jefferson Parish Sheriff Harry Lee
is taking an interest in a number of campaigns -- in addition to his own re-election
bid.

Lee, who is seeking his seventh four-year
term since he was first elected sheriff in 1979, says he is backing former U.S.
Rep. Buddy Leach for governor and Orleans Parish Criminal Sheriff Charles
Foti for state attorney general. However, Lee is not ready to announce his
candidate for lieutenant governor or other statewide offices.

"I have my own race, so I don't want to say
too much about who I am endorsing for what because there ain't no sense in me
making a bunch of enemies," the sheriff said.

Closer to home, Lee last week announced he
would support businessman Eric Skremetta's campaign for a newly configured
House District 81 seat. Lee appears in television spots for Skremetta that began
airing over the weekend.

The sheriff says he also is supporting state
Rep. Jennifer Sneed, R-Metairie, who is leaving her old House District
81 seat to run for the District 6 seat on the Jefferson Parish Council. "If
I get involved in the other (six council) races, I'll make up my mind later,"
Lee said. "I don't mean to be selfish, but I'm looking out for my ass first."

Lee says his only opponent so far is an ex-employee,
former Lt. Valinicia Renee Washington, who the sheriff defeated in 1999,
by 78 percent to 22 percent.

The sheriff predicts Washington will get 25
to 30 percent of the vote in the Oct. 4 primary. "She got the black vote last
time, and she will probably get all of the black vote this time."

But Washington, who left the sheriff's office
after more than 21 years to run for the sheriff's job in 1999, says her old
boss is wrong about her voter demographics. "My largest bloc of votes was caucasians
in Terrytown, Metairie and Marrero; I was surprised myself."